Highlights of the Silambam Grading

The Silambam grading was held on the 2nd of November 2014 at our class premise in Meru. About 78 students participated in this grading and we were assessed by masters who are well known in the arena of Silambam. Among the belt levels which were assessed were white, yellow, orange, green and blue. Upon passing, white belts proceed to yellow, orange belts proceed to green, green belts proceed to blue and blue belts proceed to purple. Some advanced students were allowed to master syllabus of two belts which allows them to skip a level and obtain two belts.

The grading began with the salutation to the grandmaster and some briefing on the agenda of the grading. The grading started with the assessments of the white belts which are 12 of us.

We were instructed to demonstrate the white belt syllabus individually so that they could assess our stances and moves accurately. It began with the demonstration of Udarpayirci (உடற்பயிற்சி) which is a form of warm up and stretching which comprises of 12 steps. After all 12 of us have demonstrated the Udarpayirci individually, we were assessed on the Guru Vanakam (குரு வணக்கம்) which is a form of salutation or respect before combat and also a form of respect to the earth that we are stepping on. Once Guru Vanakam was assessed, we were assessed on Nilaigal (நிலைகள்) which comprises of 10 level of stances which incorporates blocks, punches and kicks.

The final assessment was done on the Periya Guru Vanakam (பெரிய குரு வணக்கம்பெரிய குரு வணக்கம்), which is an advanced derivation of the Guru Vanakkam. That summarized the white belt assessment.

I also watched the other grading which were being conducted. The yellow belt grading consists of syllabus which were tougher and more complex. It was also exciting to see kids performing the steps very swiftly despite the complexity of the steps. These kids have been training for very long and they are seniors to me. The highlight of the event was the grading of the blue belts. Their syllabus comprises locks, one-step sparring and sparring. Their steps were full of action and it proves that Silambam is very effective and deadly when it comes to self defense and one should use the techniques with caution.

The last part of the blue belt assessment was the sparring session. Both fighters were required to wear head gears and sparring vests which are similar to the ones in Taekwondo. The rules of Silambam sparring are kicks and punches are only allowed at the torso level. No punches and kicks are allowed below the belt and to the head. The fights were intense and the fighters gave their best. With the ending of the sparring session, that summarized the event of the day. A final closing speech was given by our master along with a presentation of a token of appreciation to the masters which were present to assess the students.

The students were informed of the grading results and those who passed the grading were awarded their respective belts. I was awarded the yellow belt and this marks my first step in mastering Silambam.